Processing decision method and mobile communication terminal

ABSTRACT

A wireless communication processing decision unit  33  acquires, from a wireless communication specific information storage unit  52,  wireless communication specific information which specifies regions in which utilization of its frequency bandwidth is permitted by law. Next, registered position information which specifies the region in which this mobile communication terminal is position registered is acquired from a registered position information storage unit  34.  Next, if the region specified by the registered position information is included in the regions shown by the wireless communication specific information, then the wireless communication processing decision unit  33  makes a decision to the effect that communication is possible, and notifies a communication processing unit  53  of this permission of communication. Upon receipt of this communication permission, the communication processing unit  53  starts communication processing.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Divisional application of Ser. No. 11/898,194filed on Sep. 10, 2007, which is a continuation application of theinternational patent application No. PCT/JP2006/304712 filed withApplication date: Mar. 10, 2006. The present application is based on,and claims priority from, Japanese Application 2005-068744, filed onMar. 11, 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference herein its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a processing decision method and to amobile communication terminal, and, more particularly, relates to aprocessing decision method for deciding whether or not to perform apredetermined process, and to a mobile communication terminal whichemploys that method.

BACKGROUND ART

From the past, mobile communication terminal such as cellular phoneshave become widespread. In recent years, not only have telephoneprocessing and email processing been available with mobile communicationterminal, but also some devices have emerged which are equipped withgame execution processing and replay processing for various types ofcontent, such as moving picture. Furthermore, with regard tocommunication processing, cellular phones have also emerged which can beutilized without modification, not only in-country, but also overseas.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As described above, due to increase in the number of functions andglobalization, mobile communication terminal have become able to executevarious kinds of processing in various different regions. In this typeof situation, even if the same processing is executed, depending uponthe region in which a mobile communication terminal is utilized,sometimes it may happen that various rights which are included in thisprocessing or in the contents which are subjected to this processing,such as patent rights and copyrights, may be infringed, which is veryundesirable.

Furthermore, depending upon the region, sometimes it may also be thecase that, due to regulations or differences in popular morals, it isnot acceptable for the mobile communication terminal to perform somespecific processing. Moreover, it is also often the case that, due tohis strategic business objectives, there may be regions in which aservice supplier or a product dealer does not wish predeterminedprocessing to be executed by, or contents supplied upon, the mobilecommunication terminal.

The present invention has been conceived in consideration of thecircumstances described above, and it takes as its object to provide aprocessing decision method and a mobile communication terminal, whichcan decide whether or not to perform various types of processing withinthe mobile telephone device, from the point of view of aspects otherthan technical ones, such as rights, regulations, and business strategy.

The processing decision method of the present invention is a processingdecision method for a mobile communication terminal, for decidingwhether or not it is possible to perform predetermined processing,comprising: a processing specific region information acquisition stepwhich acquires processing specific region information, which isinformation stored within said mobile communication terminal andspecifying a specific region which has been decided upon ascorresponding to said predetermined processing, for deciding whether ornot it is possible to perform said predetermined processing; aprocessing independent region information acquisition step whichacquires processing independent region information, which is regioninformation stored within said mobile communication terminal, and whichis determined independently from said predetermined processing; and aprocessing decision step, which compares together said processingspecific region information and said processing independent regioninformation, acquired by said processing specific region informationacquisition step and said processing independent region informationacquisition step, and decides whether or not it is possible to performsaid predetermined processing.

In this processing decision method, first, in the processing specificregion information acquisition step, processing specific regioninformation, which is information stored within said mobilecommunication terminal and specifying a specific region which has beendecided upon as corresponding to the predetermined processing, isacquired. In this case, “information specifying a specific region whichhas been decided upon as corresponding to the predetermined processing”is information for deciding whether or not it is possible to performsaid predetermined processing; in concrete terms, this means informationspecifying a region or regions in which it is possible to perform thepredetermined processing, or a region or regions in which it is notpossible to perform the predetermined processing.

Furthermore, “stored within said mobile communication terminal” not onlymeans that this information is actually stored, but also is to be takenas including the meaning that this information may be deduced from theinformation which is actually stored. Accordingly, information which isobtained from identifier information which is stored within the deviceby using, for example, a conversion table stored in the device, is to beconsidered as constituting information which is stored within thedevice.

Next, in the processing independent region information acquisition step,processing independent region information, which is region informationstored within said mobile communication terminal, and which isdetermined independently from said predetermined processing, isacquired. In this case, “region information which is determinedindependently from said predetermined processing” is region informationwhich is determined as having no direct relationship with thispredetermined processing; if, for example, the predetermined processingis processing of a game, then it is information which has no directrelationship with this game processing, such as information about theregion in which this mobile communication terminal was purchased or thelike. Furthermore, “stored within said mobile communication terminal” isused to mean the same as described above.

Finally, in the processing decision step, said processing specificregion information and said processing independent region informationwhich have been acquired are compared together, and a decision is madeas to whether or not it is possible to perform said predeterminedprocessing. Thus, according to this processing decision method, it ispossible to decide whether or not to perform various types of processingwithin the mobile communication terminal, from the point of view ofaspects other than technical ones, such as rights, regulations, andbusiness strategy.

With the processing decision method of the present invention, theprocessing independent region information may be taken as beinginformation which specifies the region in which the user of said mobilecommunication terminal has concluded a communication contract. In thiscase, “the region in which the user of said mobile communicationterminal has concluded a communication contract” means, for example, theregion of the address of the telecommunications carrier with which theuser is contracted, which is stored in a SIM (Subscriber IdentityModule) or a UIM (User Identity Module) which is inserted into themobile communication terminal. In this case, in making this decision asto whether or not to perform the predetermined processing, the mobilecommunication terminal is able to refer to this information about theregion in which the user has concluded his communication contract.

Furthermore, with the processing decision method of the presentinvention, the processing independent region information may be taken asbeing information which specifies the region in which said mobilecommunication terminal was purchased. In this case, the “informationspecifying the purchase region” can be read out from the informationstored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) or the like, within the mobilecommunication terminal. In this case, in making this decision as towhether or not to perform the predetermined processing, the mobilecommunication terminal is able to refer to this information about theregion in which this mobile communication terminal was bought.

Moreover, with the processing decision method of the present invention,the processing independent region information may be taken as beinginformation which specifies the region in which said mobilecommunication terminal is position registered. In this case, “positionregistered” means that, in wireless communication performed by themobile communication terminal, the area in which the mobilecommunication terminal is present is registered in the network equipmentprovided by the telecommunications carrier. Furthermore, “the regionwhich is position registered” means that area, and, since thisinformation is also stored upon the mobile communication terminal, itcan also be utilized by the mobile communication terminal. In this case,in making the decision as to whether or not to perform the predeterminedprocessing, the mobile communication terminal is able to refer to thisinformation about the region in which the mobile communication terminalis position registered.

Yet further, with the processing decision method of the presentinvention, the processing specific region information may be taken asbeing determined according to the presence or absence of a right toperform said predetermined processing in the region specified by saidprocessing specific region information. In this case, “the presence orabsence of a right to perform said predetermined processing in theregion” refers to a case in which the region in which it is possible toperform this predetermined processing is limited by, for example, thepresence or absence of copyright or patent rights, or by contract. Inthis case, the mobile communication terminal is able to decide whetheror not to perform the predetermined processing, according to thepresence or absence of the right to perform that processing.

Still further, with the processing decision method of the presentinvention, the processing specific region information may be taken asbeing determined according to whether or not performing saidpredetermined processing conforms to law, regulation, or custom in theregion specified by said processing specific region information. In thiscase, the case in which it “does not conform to law, regulation, orcustom in the region” means, for example, a case in which, in thisregion, performing this predetermined processing is forbidden by law, orcontravenes public order and morals, or is not religiously permitted. Inthis case, the mobile communication terminal is able to decide whetheror not to perform the predetermined processing, according to whether ornot doing so conforms to law, regulation, and custom.

Even further, with the processing decision method of the presentinvention, the predetermined processing may be taken as being theexecution of an application program mounted said mobile communicationterminal. In this case, it is possible to decide whether or not each ofthese application programs should be executed.

Still yet further, with the processing decision method of the presentinvention, the predetermined processing may be taken as being thedisplay or replay of contents stored in said mobile communicationterminal. In this case, the term “contents” means, for example, audio,still picture, moving picture, a document or the like, i.e. so calledmultimedia contents. In this case, it is possible to decide whether ornot display processing or replay processing of each of these contentsshould be performed.

Moreover, with the processing decision method of the present invention,the predetermined processing may be taken as being processing which isperformed by a device within said mobile communication terminal. In thiscase, it is possible to decide whether or not processing which isperformed by this device should be performed.

The mobile communication terminal of the present invention is a mobilecommunication terminal, comprising: a processing specific regioninformation storage means which stores processing specific regioninformation, which is information specifying a specific region which hasbeen decided upon as corresponding to said predetermined processing, fordeciding whether or not it is possible to perform said predeterminedprocessing; a processing independent region information storage meanswhich stores processing independent region information, which is regioninformation determined independently from said predetermined processing;and a processing decision means which compares together said processingspecific region information and said processing independent regioninformation, and decides whether or not it is possible to perform saidpredetermined processing.

With this mobile communication terminal, the processing specific regioninformation storage means stores the processing specific regioninformation, which is information specifying a specific region which hasbeen decided upon as corresponding to said predetermined processing, fordeciding whether or not it is possible to perform said predeterminedprocessing; and moreover the processing independent region informationstorage means stores the processing independent region information,which is region information determined independently from thepredetermined processing. In this case, “information specifying aspecific region which has been decided upon as corresponding to saidpredetermined processing” and “region information determinedindependently from the predetermined processing” mean the same as in thecase of the processing decision method, described previously.

And furthermore, the processing decision means compares together saidprocessing specific region information and said processing independentregion information, and decides whether or not it is possible to performsaid predetermined processing. Thus, with this mobile communicationterminal, it is possible to decide whether or not to perform varioustypes of processing within the mobile telephone device, from the pointof view of aspects other than technical ones, such as rights,regulations, and business strategy.

As has been explained above, according to the processing decision methodof the present invention and the mobile communication terminal to whichthis processing decision method is applied, the beneficial effect isobtained that it is possible to decide whether or not to perform varioustypes of processing within the mobile communication terminal, from thepoint of view of aspects other than technical ones, such as rights,regulations, and business strategy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is an elevation view schematically showing a cellular phone 10which is an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a rear view schematically showing this cellular phone 10which is an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a figure showing the structure of an internal system 11 of thecellular phone 10 of FIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIG. 3A is a figure showing the functional structure of the internalsystem 11 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3B is a figure showing the structure of a game application 31 ofFIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C is a figure showing the structure of a replay application 32 ofFIG. 3A;

FIG. 3D is a figure showing the structure of a moving image contents 35of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3E is a figure showing the structure of a subscriber identificationcard 23 of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3F is a figure showing the structure of a wireless communicationunit 22 of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4 is a sequence figure for explanation of game starting processingof the game application 31 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sequence figure for explanation of replay startingprocessing of the moving picture contents 35 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a sequence figure for explanation of wireless communicationstarting processing by the wireless communication unit 22 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following, an embodiment of the present invention will beexplained with reference to FIGS. 1A through 6. It should be understoodthat, in these figures, to elements which are the same or equivalent,the same reference symbols are appended, and overlapped explanation isomitted.

In FIGS. 1A and 1B, the external appearance of a cellular phone 10 isschematically shown. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, this cellular phone 10comprises: (a) an operation section 12 which comprises a numeral key padfor inputting telephone numbers and function keys for inputting varioustypes of command, such as changeover of the operating mode and the like;(b) a display section 13 which comprises a liquid crystal display devicewhich displays guidance for operating the cellular phone 10, itsoperational state, received messages, and the like; (c) a speaker forconversation 14 which replays voice signals which have arrived fromanother party during conversation; (d) a microphone 15 for inputtingsound during sound gathering, and for inputting voice during aconversation; (e) a speaker for guidance 16 for generating ring tonesand guidance sounds; and (f) an antenna 17 for performing wirelesscommunication with a base station.

In FIG. 2 there is schematically shown an internal system 11, which isan information processing system internal to the cellular phone 10. Thisinternal system 11 comprises: a control unit 21 which controls theoverall system of the cellular phone 10 as a whole; a wirelesscommunication unit 22 which performs communication with a base stationvia the antenna 17; and a subscriber identification card 23 issued by atelecommunications carrier to which the user of this cellular phone 10has subscribed.

In this embodiment, the control unit 21 comprises a central processingunit(CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a ROM (Read Only Memory), aRAM (Random Access Memory), and the like, none of which are shown in thefigures.

In FIGS. 3A through 3F, the functional structure of the control unit 21,the wireless communication unit 22 and the subscriber identificationcard 23 are schematically shown. The control unit 21 comprises: (a) agame application 31, which is an application for executing a game; (b) areplay application 32 which replays moving picture and music; (c) awireless communication processing decision unit 33 which decides whetheror not the frequency upon which the wireless communication unit 22 isattempting to perform wireless communication can be utilized; (d) aregistered position information storage unit 34 in which is stored theidentifier of the region which is currently position registered for thecellular phone 10 to perform wireless communication; (e) moving picturecontents 35, replayed by the replay application 32; (f) a sales regioninformation storage unit 36 in which is stored the identifier of theregion in which this cellular phone 10 was sold; and (g) a carrier coderegion conversion table 37, which is a table for converting from a codefor identifying a telecommunications carrier to an identifier of theregion to which that telecommunications carrier belongs.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3B, the game application 31 comprises agame processing unit 41 which performs processing for the game itself, agame processing decision unit 42 which decides whether or not processingof the game should be performed, and a game specific information storageunit 43, in which is stored the identifiers of the sales regions of thecellular phone in which processing of the game may be performed. Inconcrete terms, as these region identifiers which are stored in thisgame specific information storage unit 43, there are stored theidentifiers of the regions for which a software license fee for the gameapplication 31 has been paid.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3C, the replay application 32 comprises areplay processing unit 44 which performs replay of moving picturecontents, and a replay processing decision unit 45 which decides, foreach moving picture contents, whether or not replay of this movingpicture contents should be performed.

Yet further, as shown in FIG. 3D, the moving picture contents 35comprises a moving picture contents specific information storage unit 46in which there is stored the identifier of the region to which thecontracted telecommunications carrier belongs, and in which it ispossible to replay this moving picture contents 35. In this embodiment,“the region to which the contracted telecommunications carrier belongs”means the region which is the location of the telecommunications carrierwith which the user of the cellular phone has directly contracted, anddoes not include the region to which a telecommunications carrier whichis utilized during roaming belongs, or the like.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3E, the subscriber identification card 23comprises a contracted carrier code storage unit 51, in which is storeda code for identifying the telecommunications carrier with which theuser of this cellular phone 10 is contracted. Moreover, as shown in FIG.3F, the wireless communication unit 22 comprises a wirelesscommunication specific information storage unit 52 in which is stored,for each frequency radio wave bandwidth upon which the wirelesscommunication unit 22 is capable of communicating, identifiers of theregions in which it is legally permitted to utilize this frequencybandwidth, and a communication processing unit 53 which performsprocessing for wireless communication via the antenna 17.

Thus, if the identifier of the sales region of the cellular phone 10which is stored in the sales region information storage unit 36 isincluded in the identifiers of regions which are stored in the gamespecific information storage unit 43, then the game processing decisionunit 42 is enabled to make a decision to the effect that it can performprocessing of the game, since the user possesses the right to utilizethe software of the game.

Moreover, during replay of the moving picture contents 35, using thecarrier code region conversion table 37, the replay processing decisionunit 45 converts the code for identifying the telecommunications carrierwith which the user is contracted, stored in the contracted carrier codestorage unit 51, to the identifier of the region to which thistelecommunications carrier belongs. And it is arranged, if this regionidentifier is included in the identifiers of regions which are stored inthe replay moving picture contents specific information storage unit 46,to make a decision to the effect that replay may be performed, since theregion to which the contracted telecommunications carrier of this userbelongs is one in which it is possible to replay the moving picturecontents 35.

Yet further, if the identifier of the registered position region whichis stored in the registered position information storage unit 34 isincluded in the identifiers of the regions stored in the wirelesscommunication specific information storage unit 52, then the wirelesscommunication processing decision unit 33 is able to make a decision tothe effect that it is possible to perform wireless communication uponthis bandwidth, since this is a region in which the use of thisfrequency bandwidth for attempting to perform communication is permittedby law.

Next, the processing decision method for the cellular phone 10 havingthe structure described above will be explained with reference to FIGS.4 through 6.

In FIG. 4, there is shown the processing situation when starting thegame application 31 upon the cellular phone 10. As shown in this figure,when starting the game application 31, the game processing decision unit42 acquires the identifiers of the sales regions in which it is possibleto perform the game (i.e. the game specific information) from the gamespecific information storage unit 43, and next acquires the identifierof the sales region (i.e. the sales region information) of the cellularphone 10 from the sales region information storage unit 36.

Next, if the identifier of the sales region of the cellular phone 10 isincluded in the identifiers which have thus been acquired of the salesregions in which it is possible to play the game, then the gameprocessing decision unit 42 makes a decision to the effect thatprocessing of the game should be performed, and notifies the gameprocessing unit 41 that the start of processing is permitted. Upon thisnotification that the start of processing is permitted, the gameprocessing unit 41 starts processing of the game. On the other hand, ifthe identifier of the sales region of the cellular phone 10 is notincluded in the identifiers which have thus been acquired of the salesregions in which it is possible to play the game, then the gameprocessing decision unit 42 makes a decision to the effect thatprocessing of the game should not be performed, and displays upon thedisplay section 13 a message to the effect that it is not possible toutilize the game application 31.

In FIG. 5, there is shown the processing situation when replaying themoving picture contents 35 upon the cellular phone 10. First, when acommand is issued to replay the moving picture contents 35, the replayapplication 32 is started. Subsequently, the replay processing decisionunit 45 acquires, from the contracted carrier code storage unit 51, thecontracted business code for identifying the communication business withwhich the user is contracted. Next, using the carrier code regionconversion table 37, the replay processing decision unit 45 acquires theidentifier of the region to which the business to which this code isallocated belongs. In other words, it acquires the identifier of theregion to which the telecommunications carrier with which the user iscontracted belongs (i.e. the communication contract region information).Furthermore, the replay processing decision unit 45 acquires, from themoving picture contents specific information storage unit 46, theidentifiers of the regions to which a telecommunications carrierbelongs, in which it is possible to replay the moving picture contents35 (the contents specific information).

If the communication contract region information is included in thecontents specific information, then the replay processing decision unit45 makes a decision to the effect that replay of the moving picturecontents 35 is to be performed, and notifies this replay permission tothe replay processing unit 44. The replay processing unit 44, which hasthus been permitted to perform replaying, replays the moving picturecontents 35. On the other hand, if the communication contract regioninformation is not included in the contents specific information, then adecision is taken to the effect that replay of the moving picturecontents 35 should not be performed, and a message is displayed upon thedisplay section 13 to the effect that it is not possible to replay themoving picture contents 35.

In FIG. 6, there is shown the processing situation when performingwireless communication upon the cellular phone 10. When a command hasbeen issued to the wireless communication unit 22 to performcommunication processing upon some frequency, then, first, the wirelesscommunication processing decision unit 33 acquires, from the wirelesscommunication specific information storage unit 52, the identifiers ofthe regions in which the use of this frequency bandwidth is permitted bylaw (i.e. wireless communication specific information). Next, itacquires from the registered position information storage unit 34, theidentifier of the region in which this cellular phone 10 is positionregistered (i.e. the registered position information).

Next, if the registered position information is included in the wirelesscommunication specific information which have thus been acquired, thenthe wireless communication processing decision unit 33 makes a decisionto the effect that communication may be performed, and notifies thecommunication processing unit 53 of this permission of communication.And, upon receipt of this notification of communication permission, thecommunication processing unit 53 starts communication processing. On theother hand, if the registered position information is not included inthe wireless communication specific information, then a decision istaken to the effect that communication should not be performed, and amessage is displayed upon the display section 13 to the effect thatcommunication cannot be performed.

As has been explained above, in this embodiment, if the identifier ofthe sales region of the cellular phone 10 is included in the identifiersof the sales regions in which it is possible to perform the game whichhas been stored as the game application 31, then the game processingdecision unit 42 makes the decision to perform processing of the game,and the game processing unit 41 starts processing the game. In otherwords, the cellular phone 10 is able to use the game application 31 inthe regions, in which the price includes the license fee for thesoftware of the game application 31; while the game application 31cannot be used in sales regions, in which the price doesn't include thesoftware license fee for the game application 31.

Moreover, if the communication contract region information is includedin the contents specific information, then the replay processingdecision unit 45 takes a decision to the effect that the moving picturecontents 35 should be replayed, and the replay processing unit 44replays the moving picture contents 35. In other words, a user who iscontracted with a telecommunications carrier which belongs to someregion is able to replay the moving picture contents 35; while a userwho is contracted with a telecommunications carrier which belongs tosome other region is not able to replay the moving picture contents 35.

Furthermore, if the registered position information is included in thewireless communication specific information, then the wirelesscommunication processing decision unit 33 makes a decision to the effectthat communication should be performed, and the communication processingunit 53 starts the communication. In other words, if the frequency uponwhich a communication attempt is being made is legally permitted in theregion in which the cellular phone 10 is position registered, i.e. inthe region which the user of the cellular phone 10 is present, then itis possible to utilize this frequency; while, if this frequency is notlegally permitted, then communication upon this frequency is notpossible.

Accordingly, in this embodiment, by storing within the cellular phone,in relation with various types of processing, the regions for whichrights are possessed, the regions which are regulated by law and so on,and information about the regions in which services are implemented, itis possible to decide whether or not to perform processing, bycomparison of these items of information with information specifying thesales region of the cellular phone, its registered position region, andits contract region, respectively.

In other words, in this embodiment, it is possible to decide whether ornot to perform various types of processing within the mobilecommunication terminal, according to considerations other than technicalaspects, such as rights, regulations, and business strategy.

Note that it should be understood that, in this embodiment, it isarranged for the game processing decision unit 42 and the replayprocessing decision unit 45 to be included in, respectively, the gameapplication 31 and the replay application 32. By contrast, it would alsobe acceptable for these decision units 42 and 45 to be functionsincluded in the control unit 21 which is separate from theseapplications, or they could also be functions other than ones of thecontrol unit 21.

Furthermore although, in this embodiment, it was arranged for thewireless communication processing decision unit 33 to be included in thecontrol unit 21, it would also be acceptable to arrange for it to beincluded in the wireless communication unit 22.

Furthermore although, in this embodiment, the regions are supposed to besimply regions, it would also be acceptable for the regions to becountries; and it would also be acceptable for them to be districtswhich are included in a country.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the processing specific regioninformation is supposed to be game specific information, wirelesscommunication specific information, and moving picture contents specificinformation, and the processing independent region information for thisprocessing specific region information is supposed to be, respectively,sales region information, registered position information, andcommunication contract region information; and the decision to performprocessing is made upon the identifiers of the processing regionindependent information being included in the identifiers of thespecific processing regions information. By contrast, it would also beacceptable to arrange to decide not to perform processing upon theidentifiers of the processing independent region information beingincluded in the identifiers of the processing specific regioninformation, or to arrange to make this decision by performingprocessing using some other reference for comparison.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is arranged for the game specificinformation storage unit 43 to store the identifier of the sales regionof the cellular phone, in which it is possible to perform processing ofthe game, and for the game processing decision unit 42 to make itsdecision using this identifier of the sales region. By contrast, itwould also be acceptable to arrange to make this decision using someother type of region, such as the region which is position registered,or the region to which the contracted telecommunications carrierbelongs, or the like.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is arranged for the identifier ofthe region to which the contracted telecommunications carrier belongs tobe stored in the moving picture contents specific information storageunit 46, and for the replay processing decision unit 45 to make itsdecision using this identifier of the region to which the contractedtelecommunications carrier. By contrast, it would also be acceptable toarrange for the replay processing decision unit 45 to make this decisionusing another type of region, such as the region which is positionregistered, or the sales region of the cellular phone, or the like.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is arranged for the identifiers ofthe regions in which the use of a frequency bandwidth is permitted to bestored in the wireless communication specific information storage unit52, and for the wireless communication processing decision unit 33 tomake its decision using the identifier of the region which is positionregistered. By contrast, it would also be acceptable to arrange for thewireless communication processing decision unit 33 to make this decisionusing the identifier of some other type of region, such as the region towhich the contracted telecommunications carrier belongs, or the salesregion of the cellular phone, or the like.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is arranged to perform decisions inrelation to processing of the game, wireless communication processingupon some frequency bandwidth, and replay processing of the contents. Ofcourse it would also be possible to apply the present invention to othertypes of processing than these, such as, for example, processing relatedto the presence or absence of rights, and processing to which laws,regulations, and customs are applicable.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is arranged to convert the code foridentifying the telecommunications carrier with which the user iscontracted into the identifier of the region to which thistelecommunications carrier belongs by using the carrier code regionconversion table 37. By contrast, it would also be acceptable to arrangeto convert it, not into the region to which the telecommunicationscarrier belongs, but rather, by using some other table, into theidentifier of some other region, such as the service supply region orthe like, and to arrange to use the identifier of this region as theidentifier of the processing independent region information.

Furthermore although, in this embodiment, a cellular phone was employedas an example of a mobile communication terminal, it would also beacceptable for this mobile communication terminal to be some other typeof mobile communication terminal.

As explained above, the processing decision method according to thepresent invention, and the mobile communication terminal which utilizesthis method, can be applied to a mobile communication terminal.

1: A terminal, comprising: a first storage means storing firstinformation which specifies a region corresponding to predeterminedprocessing; a second storage means storing second information includingregion information that is independent of said predetermined processing;and a processing decision means which compares said first and secondinformation, and decides whether it is permissible to perform saidpredetermined processing. 2: The terminal of claim 1, furthercomprising: a game processing unit performing processing of at least onegame application, wherein said predetermined processing corresponds tosaid processing of said at least one game application; a game specificinformation storage unit storing identifiers of regions corresponding toregions where said processing of said at least one game application ispermissible, wherein said first storage means corresponds to said gamespecific information storage unit; and a game processing decision unitdeciding whether said processing of said at least one game applicationis permissible in dependence on said identifiers and said secondinformation, wherein said processing decision means corresponds to saidgame processing decision unit. 3: The terminal of claim 1, furthercomprising: a replay processing unit performing a display of movingpicture contents, wherein said predetermined processing corresponds tosaid performing of said display of moving picture contents; a movingpicture contents specific information storage unit storing an identifierof a region corresponding to a region where said performing of thedisplay is permissible, wherein said first storage means corresponds tosaid moving picture contents specific information storage unit; and areplay processing decision unit deciding whether said performing of thedisplay is permissible in dependence on said identifier and said secondinformation, wherein said processing decision means corresponds to saidreplay processing decision unit. 4: The terminal of claim 1, whereinsaid region information included in said second information specifies aregion selected from among a region in which a user of said terminal hasconcluded a communication contract, a region in which said terminal waspurchased, and a region in which said terminal is position registered.5: The terminal of claim 1, wherein said first information is determinedaccording to a presence of a right to perform said predeterminedprocessing in the region. 6: The terminal of claim 1, wherein said firstinformation is determined according to whether performing saidpredetermined processing in the region conforms to law, regulation, orcustom. 7: The terminal of claim 1, wherein said predeterminedprocessing corresponds to execution of at least one program mounted insaid terminal. 8: The terminal of claim 1, wherein said predeterminedprocessing corresponds to a display of contents stored on said terminal.9: The terminal of claim 1, wherein said predetermined processingcorresponds to processing performed by a device in said terminal. 10:The terminal of claim 1, wherein said terminal corresponds to a mobilecommunication terminal. 11: A method, comprising: acquiring firstinformation which specifies a region corresponding to predeterminedprocessing and which is stored in a terminal; acquiring secondinformation which includes region information that is independent ofsaid predetermined processing and which is stored in said terminal; andcomparing said first information and second information, and decidingwhether it is permissible to perform said predetermined processing. 12:The method of claim 11, further comprising: performing processing of atleast one game application, wherein said predetermined processingcorresponds to said processing of said at least one game application;storing identifiers of regions corresponding to regions where saidprocessing of said at least one game application is permissible, whereinsaid identifiers correspond to said first information; and decidingwhether said processing of said at least one game application ispermissible in dependence on said identifiers and said secondinformation. 13: The terminal of claim 11, further comprising:performing a display of moving picture contents, wherein saidpredetermined processing corresponds to said performing of said displayof moving picture contents; storing an identifier of a regioncorresponding to a region where said performing of the display ispermissible, wherein said identifier corresponds to said firstinformation; and deciding whether said performing of the display ispermissible in dependence on said identifier and said secondinformation. 14: The method of claim 11, wherein said region informationincluded in said second information specifies a region selected fromamong a region in which a user of said terminal concluded acommunication contract, a region in which said terminal was purchased,and a region in which said terminal is position registered. 15: Themethod of claim 11, wherein said first information is determinedaccording to whether there is a right to perform said predeterminedprocessing in the region. 16: The method of claim 11, wherein said firstinformation is determined according to whether performing saidpredetermined processing in the region conforms to law, regulation, orcustom. 17: The method of claim 11, wherein said predeterminedprocessing corresponds to execution of at least one program mounted insaid terminal. 18: The method of claim 11, wherein said predeterminedprocessing corresponds to a display of contents stored on said terminal.19: The method of claim 11, wherein said predetermined processingcorresponds to processing performed by a device in said terminal. 20:The method of claim 11, wherein said terminal corresponds to a mobilecommunication terminal.